Taylor: Draw left me 'absolutely gutted'

Newcastle defender Steven Taylor has been left 'absolutely gutted' after the club failed to turn a dominant performance into a vital first-leg win over Metalist Kharkiv in their Europa League last-32 clash.

The Toon Army were left in shock after two Papiss Cisse goals were chalked out for offside, leaving the tie in a do-or-die 0-0 stalemate heading into the second-leg in Ukraine.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew was incensed at the final whistle, believing at least one, if not both, Cisse goals should have stood.

And Taylor said the manager's frustration was felt throughout the squad.

"The gaffer has just made the point to us that we should be 2-0 ahead. We had those two goals chalked off - we're disappointed with that," Taylor told ESPN.

"It was one of our best performances in a while. Everything the gaffer asked of us we did - we just didn't win.

"We're absolutely gutted."

However, there is room for hope around St James despite the controversial draw, with midfielder Yohan Cabaye lauding the squad's defense which withstood the Ukrainian's quest to seek an all-important away goal.

"It was a tough game. The important things is we haven't conceded a goal," Cabaye said. "If we are doing the right thing away from home, we score, then they have to score two.

"That's the main thing from tonight."

And despite being floored by an un-rewarded first-leg performance, Taylor was also positive the away-leg would prove more fruitful for the club.

"Tonight showed we have goals in us," Taylor said. "We can go there with more confidence than them. We will hope to pose them more problems."